High School Student Charged With 'Violently' Raping 4 Classmates

A teen from Las Vegas has been charged as an adult after authorities say he raped at least four high school classmates. Maysen Melton, 16, was indicted on sexual assault charges and arraigned on more than two dozen counts including sexual assault, first-degree kidnapping, and child pornography.

Advertisement

Melton violently raped four Shadow Ridge High School classmates who ranged in age from 15 to 18 years old, according to prosecutors. The teen was expelled in 2017 and was arrested in May before enrolling as a junior at Palo Verde High School while under house arrest.

"I have some serious concerns for the girls who go to that school," the prosecutor told Chief District Judge Elizabeth Gonzalez in court, according to the Las Vegas Review-Journal. "This defendant, honestly, is a predator. It's the same thing over and over. He gets these girls in these intimate situations. He pushes them on the ground, throws them on the ground, trips them onto the ground, pulls their pants down. He does not heed to any of their nos, does not heed to any of their resistance."

According to Chief Deputy District Attorney Kristina Rhoades, Melton knew each of his victims before targeting them for the attacks, some of which took place on school property. Melton was charged as an adult despite his age because he already previously completed the Juvenile Court's "strictest" form of a sex offender probation program between 2014 and 2016.

"One thing we can all agree on is that the juvenile system was a miserable failure and did nothing to help the community or this young man," Melton's defense attorney, Dustin Marcello, said.

Melton's bail was set at $200,000 as he awaits trial. Rhoades explained that while some of the "violent rapes" occurred on campus, at least one of the attacks took place at his dad's house while his father was out of town. Melton also allegedly took naked photos of his victims and threatened them to send him more.

"At least two girls contemplated suicide based on what he told them," Rhoades added.